Giving More Impetus To LISTENING

 

Is LISTENING worth our time today?  Me thinks we owe it to ourselves to dig a bit beyond the surface and figure out if LISTENING is one of those endemic and chronic causes of disconnects in our interactions either within our family home, at the workplace or in the midst of our business forays.  The scariest part is that one slightest disconnect can quickly spiral to become a full-blown 'winner-take-all' conflict

Let's take a step back and figure out the most common catalyst of communications and that generally, there is a purposeful reason for it.  Let's exclude here all the idle talk of kibitzers and nosy folks around the neighborhood.  In short, generally, at least one of the two parties has a genuine reason for starting a conversation and once you oblige when your arm is pulled closer, LISTEN sincerely

WHETHER the purpose of the initiator is more on relationships [either at work OR at home], OR financials OR health OR simply tapping the helpline for advice and counselling, it behooves that we give our 100% attention because in the first place, we obliged WHEN we got pulled over, right?  IF you're engaged in something that CAN'T be disrupted, in a polite manner, you should explicitly excuse yourself

WHAT IF someone wants to confide to you his/her personal health concerns and your body language somehow gave the impression that you were obliging to have that tete-a-tete and while your friend starts narrating, here you are, so engaged and 'hostaged & hogtied' by and unto your own smartphone???

Our takeaway:  Allow me to piggy-back on that age-old cliche "DON'T DO UNTO OTHERS WHAT YOU DON'T WANT OTHERS TO DO UNTO YOU".  Let's face it.  IF and WHEN you get caught with conflicting tasks OR priorities, to be fair, be transparent enough to excuse yourself [because sometimes, we could be in an 'intense' exchange of messages in social media WHICH may be deemed more important for you.  In short, without shoving off someone, you can politely ask LIKE 'CAN I GET BACK TO YOU IN 5 minutes?'